Posted on 10 September 2007

Daywatch (Dnevnoi Dozor): Exclusive Film Clip

Day Watch (Dnevnoy dozor) is the sequel to Night Watch (Nochnoy dozor) and is due to be released October 5th 2007. It is directed by Timur Bekmambetov, produced by Konstantin Ernst and Anatoly Maximov, with the screenplay by Segei Lukyanenko, Timur Bakmambetov and Alexander Talal.

To show you what the visual effects, sound effects and overall essence of the film will be, we’ve been given an exclusive clip of Day Watch for you to look at. If you’re into fantasy with some neat, but not over the top, effects, then have a look at this.

Posted on 22 July 2007

Daywatch (Dnevnoi Dozor): A Russian Fantasy Horror Epic

Casting Of The Dark And Light Ones

At the heart of Day Watch (Dnevnoi Dozor) are the supernatural creatures of both the Day Watch and the Night Watch who wage a nocturnal war when the city of Moscow is asleep. Director Timur Bekmambetov knew that a key to making his film viscerally and emotionally exciting would be finding actors who could stand clearly on opposite sides of the Good and Evil divide. This took a very special casting process.

Bekmambetov began by separating leading Russian actors into two different groups. “I felt that there are actors who look like actors and there are actors who just look like people. We cast the actors who look like actors as the Dark Ones because they are very cool, very original, interesting and proud. But those actors who look like regular people, they were cast as the Light Ones, the members of the Night Watch. So for example, there is the character of Svetlana, the woman who wherever she goes misfortune happens. To play her we cast Maria Poroshina who to me looks like a normal Russian girl from the street. On the other hand, to play the character Alisa from the Day Watch, we chose an actress, Zhanna Friske, who in real life is a famous Russian pop star.”

Taking advantage of Russia’s highly trained ranks of actors, Bekmembatov also put the emphasis on finding those who could handle not only the film’s intense action but also would probe their characters emotional and psychological worlds. He believes this sets Day Watch apart from other modern horror fantasies. “In American fantasy movies the characters aren’t usually so deep,” he comments. “But here we have access to Russian actors who have a very strong schooling in Stanislavsky. So, because of that, we could bring to the fantasy genre very deep characters and very complicated relationships and a lot of complexity of story through the performances.”

Bekmambetov cast Konstantin Khabensky, one of Russia’s most popular actors, in the lead role of Anton Gorodetsky, one of the premier Protectors of Light as a member of the Night Watch. Bekmambatov found Khabensky a perfect match for the wide-ranging role of Anton. “Konstantin is a very good dramatic actor but at the same time he has the skills of a character actor,” says Bekmambetov. “He’s like a clown, he can play funny, he can play extravagant, and it’s a good combination, because to bring the Russian audience into this world of creatures I needed an actor who would be entirely believable.”

As Boris Geser, businessman by day, leader of the Night Watch by night, Bekmambetov cast Vladimir Menshov, the star of the Oscar®-winning film Moscow Does Not Believe In Tears and a multi-talented actor, writer and director. The head of the Protectors of Light for centuries, Geser is both a father figure and a figurehead of all that is good. He is instrumental in saving his comrade Anton from a near-fatal encounter with the Warriors of Darkness.

“Boris is one of the few Russian directors to have won an Oscar, and he is a very Russian person,” notes Bekmambetov. “His image to Russian audiences is like that of political party chief or bureaucrat – so I thought he would be an interesting and a funny person to represent the leader of the Light forces.”

In contrast, as Zavulon, leader of the Day Watch, Bekmambetov called upon Victor Verzhbitskiy, a friend from art school, who appeared in both The Peshavar Waltz and Gladiatrix. A master of all that is evil and dark, Zavulon rules over the Day Watch. Though the Warriors of Darkness have maintained balance with the Protectors of Light, the vampires and shape shifters that make up the Day Watch are desperate to command the soul of the Great One – which will shift the balance of power in their favor.

Filling out the cast are a combination of Russian theatre and film actors, including Galina Tyunina as the Sorceress Olga, Aleksey Chadov as Kostya the young vampire and Valeriy Zolotukhin as Kostya’s father.

Posted on 22 July 2007

Daywatch (Dnevnoi Dozor): The Story Behind The Film

Sergei Lukyanenko and Vladimir Vasiliev’s novel Day Watch — and its prequel Night Watch and sequel Dusk Watch — marked a watershed in Russian literature. The book’s story of supernatural battles breaking out on the frenetic, everyday streets of modern Moscow struck a resonant chord with a whole new crowd — young Russian readers, fantasy fans and Internet users — who turned them into instant hip, cult classics, selling 500,000 copies. Since the Russian release of the feature films Day Watch (Dnevnoi Dozor) and Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor), the trilogy has gone on to sell another 2.5 million copies.

A prolific author who was originally trained as a psychiatrist, Sergei Lukyanenko had always wanted to write an epic tale of ancient magic set loose in our modern times. “I’d been eager to write fantasy for quite some time, but neither gnomes nor elves were of any interest to me,” explains Lukyanenko whose other books include the trilogy Line Of Reveries and Knights Of The Forty Islands. “Then, I had an intriguing notion: this idea of the Night as a battlefield for magicians who live in hiding among us ordinary people and can only fight when it won’t disturb humanity. From this came the further idea of the Night Watch, a special unit created to control the magicians. This then led to the development of the Night Watch’s antagonist, the Day Watch, and their eternal battle against one another.”

Soon, the supernatural beings who run the Night Watch and the Day Watch – beings with devastating magical powers who operate just one step away from the normal urban reality of rundown apartments and crowded subways — were captivating readers across the nation. Among those readers was leading Russian film producer Konstantin Ernst, who is also the General Director of Channel One Russia, Russia’s biggest and most successful television network. Ernst wasn’t usually drawn to works of fantasy, but when he picked up Night Watch, he found that he couldn’t put it down. Now, fueled by a passionate enthusiasm for the story’s cinematic possibilities, he immediately dove into development, along with fellow producer Anatoly Maximov. Nine months later, shooting began with a screenplay adapted by Lukyanenko himself in collaboration with Timur Bekmambetov.

To direct Lukyanenko’s tale of witches, warlocks and vampires set loose on city streets, the producers knew they would need a true visual innovator. They started looking for someone with a distinct and original sense of both story and style – and someone who could combine the powerhouse thrills of modern special-effects filmmaking with a personal understanding of the Russian soul. They found what they were looking for in Kazakhstan-born Timur Bekmambetov, an acclaimed creative powerhouse in the fields of commercials and music videos, who has helmed more than 600 ads for brands including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Apple, Microsoft, Ford and Procter & Gamble. Bekmambetov made his feature film directing debut in 1994 with The Peshavar Waltz, an art-house film about the war in Afghanistan, and his second film, Gladiatrix (2000) (also known as The Arena), was filmed in English and co-produced by the legendary Roger Corman.Read the full story

Posted on 22 July 2007

Day Watch (Dnevnoi Dozor): A Russian Fantasy Horror Epic

Release Date: October 5 2007

Night Watch To Day Watch

Featuring the cinematic vision of cutting-edge Director/Writer Timur Bekmambetov, Day Watch (Dnevnoi Dozor) is based on the novel by Sergei Lukyanenko and Vladimir Vasiliev. When the previous installment, Night Watch, was released in its native Russia in July 2004, it became an instant smash hit breaking all film gross records in post-Soviet history. Made for a mere $4 million, the film out-grossed both Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King and Spider-Man 2 at the Russian box office, eventually taking in more than $16 million. Day Watch has done even better, grossing over $30 million.

A dazzling mix of state-of-the-art visual effects, amazing action sequences, and nail-biting horror set in contemporary Moscow, Day Watch revolves around the conflict and balance maintained between the forces of light and darkness — the result of a medieval truce between the opposing sides. This ancient war between the forces of Light and Darkness is reaching a tragic outcome. Each side has gained a powerful Great Other, who are headed for a clash, and Anton Gorodetsky is once again caught up in the midst of this conflict.

On one side is Anton’s son, Egor, who has joined the ranks of the Dark Others, while Anton’s love interest Svetlana is the hope of the Light. But that’s just the beginning of his troubles: Anton is on the run after having been accused of murder. Things are getting worse, and only the ancient Chalk of Fate can save the day. The problem is the magical Chalk was lost hundreds of years ago…

Day Watch stars Konstantin Khabensky, Maria Poroshina, Vladimir Menshov, Galina Tyunina, Victor Verzhbitskiy, Zhanna Friske, Dima Martynov, Valeriy Zolotukhin and Aleksey Chadov. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov from a screenplay by Bekmambetov, Sergei Lukyanenko and Alexander Talal, Day Watch was produced by Konstantin Ernst, the General Director of Channel One Russia, Russia’s biggest and most successful television network, and Anatoly Maximov, Deputy General Director.

The behind-the-scenes creative team includes Director of Photography Sergei Trofimov, Art Directors Valery Victorov and Mukhtar Mirzakeyev, Editor Dmitri Kiselev and Costume Designer Varia Avdiushko. The film’s music is composed by Yuri Poteyenko.

Mini Synopsis:

A man (Khabensky) who serves in the war between the forces of Light and Dark comes into possession of a device that can restore life to Moscow, which was nearly destroyed by an apocalyptic event. Set in contemporary Moscow, Day Watch (Dnevnoi Dozor) revolves around the conflict and balance maintained between the forces of light and darkness—the result of a medieval truce between the opposing sides.

Featuring the cinematic vision of cutting-edge Director/Writer Timur Bekmambetov, Day Watch” is the second installment of a trilogy based on the best-selling sci-fi novels of Sergei Lukyanenko entitled Night Watch, Day Watch and Dusk Watch.

A dazzling mix of state-of-the-art visual effects, amazing action sequences, and nail-biting horror, when Night Watch was released in its native Russia in July 2004, it became an instant smash hit breaking all film gross records in post-Soviet history.